Fiji—Field Studies Blog
Bula! Sørlandet’s time in Fiji combined education and adventure.
At the International School of Suva, science students participated in land-based labs. Doctor MacArthur and his physics students experimented with electricity, Ms. Curtin and her Chemistry class with chromatography. All had fun with a Vandegraff generator, too. Students were treated to a tour of the ISS campus by gracious hosts, and, when the work was done, a much beloved pizza party.
Most rewarding: students brought aboard hosts and families by tender to showcase their unique, nautical campus in turn.
The most exhilarating of Sørlandet's Field Studies in Fiji was a day spent white water kayaking. With the instruction of river guides, students paddled on their own through mild rapids where Hollywood producers once filmed adventure movies and the Amazing Race.
But the day wasn’t made up strictly of thrills. Students’ exploration was cultural, too. Sørlandet's crew were welcomed into a Fijian village. There they were dressed traditionally and participated in a welcoming ceremony before the town’s chief, to be granted access to the river.
The paddle itself was split into several legs. Students and teachers picnicked on the banks of the river, and, during a hot, torrential rain, bravely scurried into a turgid waterfall.
Fun was had and much was learned.
Vinanka, Fiji!
